Rossi becomes the most successful motorcycle rider in history

Rossi subsequently took the MotoGP World title in 2002 and 2003 aboard Honda Honda’s RC211V, before moving to Yamaha and winning it again in 2004 and 2005 on the M1.

Rossi made history by moving to Yamaha in 2004 and winning the season-opening Grand Prix in South Africa, becoming the first rider in the history of the sport to win back-to-back premier class races for different manufacturers. He went on to win nine out of 16 races, finally clinching the World Championship title, Yamaha’s first for 12 years, with victory at the penultimate Grand Prix in Phillip Island. A final win at the Valencia Grand Prix also ensured that the Yamaha Factory Team won the team title.

He dominated the 2005 season, winning eleven races in total, taking five pole positions and only finishing off the podium once. In doing he became one of only five riders in the history of the sport to win the premier-class title on five occasions. He also helped Yamaha to win the Manufacturers’ and Team titles, ensuring Yamaha celebrated its 50th Anniversary with one of its best ever years in Grand Prix.

2006 saw him finish World Champion runner-up for only the second time in his premier-class career, having lost the title to Honda’s Nicky Hayden by just five points following a final-race showdown in Valencia. Despite this, Rossi still took five race wins and five pole positions in 2006, more than any other rider, and stood on the podium ten times.

He continues to have the support of his long-standing Crew Chief, Jeremy Burgess, who moved from Honda to work with him at Yamaha Factory Racing in 2004.

A keen football fan and an accomplished rally driver, Rossi is based in London between races and a recent honorary doctorate in Communication Science from an Italian University bears testimony to Rossi’s unique communication skills which have made him one of the most popular members of the paddock, with a wide fan base all over the world. His mastery of the complex science of merchandising have also made him one of the best remunerated sportsmen in history.